The new Girl
by Tirzah
Summary: Okay, new girl shows up with a secret. Not as lame as it sounds.
1. Default Chapter

A.N. Okay Note, This is a first chapter/Preview. I will only write the story if I get positive reviews for this. Otherwise I will take this off in a week. I have not abandoned my other stories and think I can manage them all at the same time. I haven't written in a while because I had to move. Things are finally settling down and I will update more frequently.  
  
The phone rang. Logan answered it. "Xavier Institute,"  
  
"Are you the caretaker of Alaira Greenleaf?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"She fainted in school. Can you come by?"  
  
"I'll be right there." He was out the door in minutes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- When he arrived at the school, she still was unconscious. He took one look at her and knew the problem immediately. "She's dehydrated."  
  
He set a washcloth on her forehead and one on each wrist. When she started stirring a minute later and gave her some water to drink. She accepted the water without comment. In fact she accepted nearly five re- fills of water without comment.  
  
Finally she said softly, "Coach. wouldn't let me.bring water bottle."  
  
"Don't talk yet. It's okay." Logan told her. Inwardly however, he was upset. Chuck and sent a note saying she was prone to dehydration, but the one class where she would need it the most wouldn't let her?! After another ten minutes, he decided she would be okay and it was time to take her home. She had another class, but Logan decided it would be better if she had time to rest and recuperate.  
  
The walk to the car was fairly silent. Neither of them were big talkers. The ride home looked to be just as quiet. Logan looked at the newest member of the Xavier Institute and smiled. She had certainly taken them all on a roller coaster ride! It seemed like just yesterday she had come.  
  
  
  
Okay, that's chapter one. In case you can't tell, this story will begin with when she came to the mansion and wind up back to when this chapter takes place (a few months later). It will likely focus mostly on Logan's reaction to her coming since he's sort-of telling the story. It will switch perspectives a few times though. You find out who she is and her powers later in the story. Okay so it's a short chapter. Sorry! 


	2. Arrival

A. N. Okay, that answered my question. Six reviews on a Prologue isn't bad. No, the last name doesn't mean anything, I just picked out of the air. Sorry. I am also changing the story summary. No more threats of taking it off. I just wasn't willing to write the story if no one was willing to read it. I am not changing the notes at the beginning of the first installment so just ignore that. Oh, when I typed it up, the dashed line was a line and not broken up like that. This starts when Alaira first meets the X-men. I forgot to mention earlier. That I only own Alaira.  
  
  
  
  
  
It was about 12:30 when the doorbell rang. That was extremely strange because they seldom had visitors, at least during school hours. Even after school hours, people generally stayed away. Well, with the exception of enemies attacking the mansion, but they generally didn't ring doorbells. Heck, they didn't even get annoying door-to-door salesmen. Logan was on his way to open the door. Storm was a little bit a head of him. On the off- chance it was a door-to-door salesman or some kid selling something, Storm got ready to open the door and motioned Wolverine back a few steps so he didn't frighten whoever off. And if there was trouble he was still close enough to stop them.  
  
Storm opened the door. It was a young girl, probably about fifteen or so. She was clinging to the door frame and panting like she had been running. She looked afraid.  
  
"Is this the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students?" the girl asked.  
  
-Read the sign, bub. - Wolverine thought but didn't say. Storm merely told her it was.  
  
Then she really surprised them. She looked around briefly, moved in a little, and asked even more quietly, "'gifted students' being a code word for mutants?"  
  
Storm looked slightly afraid. After all, how did she know? The girl, seeing she had hit the mark, promptly added, "I'm one too. Please help me!"  
  
  
  
Wolverine took a few steps closer. If this was Mystique in disguise. Then he smelled it. Blood. And lots of it. The girl could be in danger of bleeding to death. And even if it was Mystique in disguise, Chuck would not appreciate them leaving even her to her own devices that injured. "She's wounded 'Ro."  
  
Storm looked at the girl in surprise; evidently decided she was indeed hurt and needed medical attention.  
  
The girl didn't try to come in. "I need to talk to Professor Charles Xavier."  
  
"You can talk to him later, Child, you need help."  
  
"But I'll bleed all over the floor!"  
  
"The floor will wait till later, bub, you need a doctor now!"  
  
She tried walking, but really was too weak. Storm and Logan each had one of her arms and were gently guiding her to the infirmary. Now close enough, Logan could tell that her scent was unfamiliar. That meant it wasn't Mystique at least. She also smelled like she had been out in the rain. Then again considering it had rained non-stop for nearly three days and only stopped two hours ago, that didn't say a whole lot. She was still saying that she needed to talk to the Professor but that would likely have to wait for quite some time. Logan cast a quick look at Storm. She looked lightly spaced out and was probably informing the professor of everything. Dr. McCoy met them at the infirmary. He had obviously been warned. The strangest thing yet was the girl didn't even blink when she saw him. You would think she expected to see blue furry doctors. This gave Wolverine more suspicions than ever. How had she known about this place? Had she somehow, somewhere read files on them? She said she was a mutant, what was her power?  
  
Hank took her into the infirmary a few seconds before she totally collapsed. He waved Storm and Logan away so they decided to see the professor. Maybe he had some answers to this whole mess..  
  
Charles looked at them when they walked in, questions evident on their faces. They sat down, no one quite sure what to say to break the silence. Finally Storm asked him, "Charles, do you know who she is?"  
  
"I'm sorry; I'm about as much in the dark as you. I tried a brief scan, not really mind reading, just picking up surface thoughts. Her thoughts were extremely, well, scattered. She really couldn't think much. The thoughts I did pick up were strange. Mostly sentences about how she had to talk to me. Had to find safety. She was even quite upset about bleeding on the carpet, convinced some one would be furious. I don't know what to make of her."  
  
"How badly is she hurt, I could barely see it at all, until Logan said something. Then I noticed a small puddle of blood."  
  
Charles eyes went out of focus slightly. Evidently he was talking to Hank. When he had finished, "Apparently, pretty badly. Hank says she likely would have died before getting anywhere else. He thinks she's stabilizing nicely though. Considering the circumstances. He didn't explain quite what that meant. He did say he might be able to give us a status report in about an hour. Until then, I guess we wait." 


	3. Waiting

After Charles had made that announcement, there was silence. Questions wouldn't get them anywhere for now. Hopefully the girl would wake up and be able to explain everything soon. However they couldn't just sit and wait in Xavier's office, looking around, waiting for time to slowly wind around. Finally Storm decided to clean up the blood before it set. Wolverine decided to try to figure out how she got through the gate. He didn't have any luck. She hadn't climbed it. She hadn't walked through it. What had she done? What were the kid's powers anyway? And what happened to her? She showed up nearly dead on their doorstep. Why here? How did she find out? Was she a spy? He snorted. Even a spy couldn't fake being that injured. But he still made up his mind to be cautious.  
  
Both Storm and Logan 'somehow' found themselves back in the study within fifty minutes. Logan didn't like not knowing what was going on. Storm was worried. He could smell it. She was likely sad too. He knew why. The girls face was haunting them. It was hard to believe that someone could be hurt so badly in the mansion. The way she had been clinging to the doorframe, she had probably used up all of her energy getting there and could barely stand.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted when Hank came in. He sat down and nodded to everyone. "She's stabilized, I think. She'll be alright.. Eventually. It will take some time though." Everyone relaxed some.  
  
"What happened to her?" asked Storm.  
  
"I can't quite be certain. She has severe blood loss, is severely malnourished, and is heavily bruised. She also has a number of scars. You couldn't tell because of her jacket, but her shirt was almost entirely stained red. I'm a bit surprised she made it this far. However, she appears to be responding well to the treatment, and if she continues to improve, will likely be out of danger some time tomorrow. By the way, I can't ascertain how she was injured precisely, but in my opinion, someone deliberately tried to kill her. She may not wish to talk about it when she recovers though."  
  
Emotions were definitely rising. "Could you track the attacker by smell, Logan?" Storm asked.  
  
"Kid was out in the rain too long, washed away any scent but her own." He responded gruffly. He wished he could track whoever it was down. He might be fairly aggressive, and got into a lot of fights, but some one trying to kill a kid. well, it made him feel a little sick. Who would do that? And would she tell? She might be too frightened. How long had she been injured? The rain stopped two hours before she arrived, and she would have had to have been out in it for awhile to wash away anyone else's scent. Unless she took a short cut through water. Well it would wait. Questions would have to wait until she was strong enough to answer them.  
  
"How much longer do you think she'll be out?" asked Storm.  
  
"She might not regain consciousness for a few days, and then it could take even longer for her to be able to answer questions. She may even have blocked the attack, or perhaps attacks from her memory."  
  
"What makes you say 'attacks'?" Logan had to know.  
  
"She had scars. Not ordinary scars either. She could quite possibly have been attacked more than once. By the way, her story about being a mutant checks out. She was bleeding so much; I collected a small sample so I would know her blood type. She has an X-gene. Now clue about her powers though. Just have to wait till we can ask her. I should probably go back. She shouldn't be left alone for too long." With that he left.  
  
Of course, now they had no answers, only questions. What happened? Who attacked her? Why? How many times? How had she gotten away? What where her powers? How did she know about them? Why had she come here? Was the way she responded to Hank, that it didn't faze her at all a clue, or was she so out of it that she wouldn't have responded if the room filled up with pink and purple pachyderms? How much did she know anyway? When were they going to find out? And how would the student's respond? How much should they be told even? Yes, they should probably be told the basics but how many details did they need to know, if any? Who is this girl anyway?  
  
Time passed. The students returned. The adults informed them that a seriously injured young woman had shown up at the doorstep and was recovering in the infirmary. That was about all they needed to know for now. After finding out they couldn't go and see her, they generally forgot about her, with the exception of the house being a little quieter. A change the adults were profoundly grateful for. Two more days passed. She had been pronounced out of immediate danger but still not a lot of change. The students almost forgot about her entirely. Even the adults, with the exception of Hank, were finding hard to believe she was really there. At least until, three days after she had shown up, Hank said that she had finally woken up. 


	4. Meet Alaira

A.N. I finally figured out motivation for finishing my stories! I won't start any new one's until I finish old ones. One new for one finished. My problem is I don't like finishing stories because there are so many fun things to do in them. Oh, well, that's what sequels are for. Okay, I know, you want to know who on earth this girl is. You are really going to hate me for this.  
  
Chapter Three: Meet Alaira  
  
Dr. Hank 'Beast' McCoy had been reading in the infirmary. He suddenly realized that he was thirsty and started to get up for a drink. When he put the book down, he suddenly noticed a pair of brown eyes looking intently at him. He smiled. She had finally woken up. "Hello, I am Doctor McCoy. You can call me Hank."  
  
She didn't respond. Okay this wasn't going to be easy. "Do you know where you are?" She suddenly appeared a bit frightened and looked around. She hadn't been frightened before, even with his strange appearance.  
  
"Institute?" She asked a bit weakly. Almost as if she didn't even dare hope that she was still there.  
  
"That is correct. You are currently in the infirmary at the Xavier Institute."  
  
She tried to sit up a little, "Have. to . talk. to . Professor."  
  
"Soon. Now lie down, or you will injure yourself. You have been through quite a bit, you're lucky to be in this good a shape. Are you thirsty?"  
  
She nodded. He gave her a glass of water, and turned around to get one for himself. By the time he turned around again, her cup was empty. So he refilled it. She finished the cup without stopping to breathe. Hank filled a pitcher and put it on a side table so she could refill her glass herself.  
  
"You must be starving, what would you like to eat?"  
  
She looked at him in shock. "Anything?"  
  
He smiled, "Within reason."  
  
She thought for a minute. "An apple?"  
  
He looked at her surprised. She immediately grew afraid. "I.is that too much, sir?"  
  
He forced himself to remain calm. She had obviously been in this cycle of malnourishment a long time. Perhaps she wasn't even used to eating everyday anymore. They would have to slowly build up her system so she could eat normally. First things first. "No, an apple isn't too much. Would you like anything else?"  
  
He wasn't surprised when her eyes widened. She slowly shook her head no. Hank went off to get an apple as well as inform the rest of the adults to their patient's updated condition.  
  
The students were at school and the adults were conveniently all in the kitchen. He brought them up to date quickly. "So right now I think its best if she eats first, then talks to Charles, then . whatever becomes appropriate." There were nods of approval. As much as Logan and Storm wanted to see her, to find out if she was okay, it was unanimously agreed that it would be best not to inundate her with people.  
  
Hank went back to the infirmary. The girl's pitcher was empty so he re-filled it without saying a word. He also handed her the apple, and tried to appear busy somewhere else. He didn't think she would like being watched while she ate. He watched her anyway though.  
  
She ate slowly and ate more of the apple than Hank had realized was possible to eat. If he wasn't mistaken, she had even eaten the seeds. By the time she was done there wasn't a whole lot of apple hanging on the stem. He wordlessly threw it away.  
  
"I need to talk to Professor Charles Xavier."  
  
Realizing that he really couldn't put her off any longer, and that it would probably be in everyone's best interests if she did talk to the Professor, he merely telepathically asked him to come and told the girl that he was coming.  
  
A few minutes later, the Professor had arrived. Hank, realizing the girl's awkwardness, stepped outside to give them privacy.  
  
About fifteen minutes later he was still wondering what was going on. Logan and Storm had come down to wait for the news as well.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I see. This is going to make things very difficult."  
  
"I know. But please! Read my mind if you have to, just don't tell them!"  
  
After some silence, "You're secret is safe with me."  
  
"Thank you! I hope to tell them one day, but I can't now." A pause. "If necessary, you tell them. They can't just find out on accident!"  
  
"They won't, they won't. Now, stay calm. I'll get the doctor back in here. Don't worry." With that the Professor left the room to announce to his staff that Miss Alaira Greenleaf was going to be with them for a while.  
  
A.N. Aren't I evil! You still don't know who she is! And her secret is going to stay a secret for sometime. Any guesses as to her secret or her power? I can't tell you if you're right, but since I KNOW that you'll all be continuing to read you'll find out won't you? 


	5. Alaira's Power

A.N. I know, I haven't updated in a while. Believe it or not, I do have other things I have to do than write. I will try to update more frequently though. No promises. Okay, ready to find out Alaira's power?  
  
Alaira's Power  
  
Xavier wasn't in the slightest bit surprised to see a small audience waiting for him when he exited the infirmary. They didn't say anything but obviously weren't willing to wait for answers much longer.  
  
"Her name is Alaira Greenleaf. She was fortunate enough to escape from an extremely bad situation, and will be staying with us for awhile. She doesn't really wish to talk about it, and I assured her it wouldn't be necessary. In the mean time we should help her feel at home."  
  
"What about her family? Won't they be worried about her?" asked Storm. Privately Logan wondered if her family wasn't part of this mess.  
  
"Her parents died long ago. She lived with an uncle for awhile until she ran away and ended up here."  
  
That shut them up. This uncle of hers was likely the person who hurt her. However it was very likely that neither the professor nor the girl was willing to tell who he was.  
  
"What's her power?" Logan asked.  
  
The professor smiled. "I'm sure that as soon as she is up to it, she would be glad to show you all. Until then, she could use some rest."  
  
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In a few hours, Dr. McCoy pronounced Alaira fit enough to see the other adults. They decided to wait until she was up and about before having her meet the other students.  
  
Logan was surprised that she was sitting up already. She did appear to be doing better, but was obviously still weak. And she still had a pitcher of water beside her even though she wasn't drinking from it as often.  
  
"How are you feeling child?" Storm asked.  
  
"Better I think. Professor Xavier said you wanted to see what my powers are."  
  
"Only if you feel strong enough, Alaira" replied Hank.  
  
Alaira seemed a bit taken aback by this but apparently decided she was strong enough. She closed her eyes and metamorphed. Before any one knew it she was just water in the same shape as she had been as a girl. Then the water seemed to collapse, run unto the floor and stand up again into shape again. Alaira (still in water form) got back into bed before metamorphing back into solid Alaira again. Then, before anyone could say anything, she turned slightly looking at the pitcher of water. She extended her hand and made it into a fist, the water responded by forming a ball, she then lifted her hand, and the water until the water was out of the pitcher. She then opened her hand and the ball of water extended into five smaller balls that danced around the room before she put four of the balls back in the pitcher and one in her cup and started to drink.  
  
"I can breathe underwater too. I can also shoot out water and walk on water. The main problem is I get really, really dehydrated. Fortunately I can absorb water with my skin."  
  
Logan wanted to find out more but it didn't take a doctor to see that the demonstration had taken a lot out of her. She needed to rest. She had also practically finished off the water in the pitcher.  
  
"You said you could absorb water through your skin, maybe this will help some." Storm said as she wet a washcloth and placed it on the girl's forehead. She relaxed a bit more almost instantly, and there was almost a hint of a smile.  
  
It was a pity none of them knew how long a road it would be before Alaira Greenleaf remembered how to smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A.N. Okay, a brief note on originality. I know that other people have done mutants who could control water. Even so I do not feel I am copying. First of all, I invented Alaira at least two years ago, and have been refining her ever since. Actually all I invented then was a mutant who could control water. I submitted an early version of this character to an interactive fic about a year ago. I can't prove it because it is no longer there. Also I would like to point out that there is nothing new under the sun. As far as I am aware, the name Alaira doesn't exist. I made it up five years ago. But someone said it sounds familiar. Wouldn't be the first time, I've 'made-up' two names previously that happened to actually be real names in a different country, the same country actually. Weird huh? So please don't flame me for unoriginality. This is a three-dimensional character that will be as unique as I can make her. 


End file.
